Viet Nam, Poland look to blooming relationship

Prime Minister Nguyen Tan Dzung will pay an official visit to Poland between September 13-15 at the invitation of his Polish counterpart Jaroslaw Kaczynski.

Viet Nam and Poland established diplomatic ties in February 1950 and have built a firm relationship.

The two countries have exchanged a number of high-level visits such as the Poland visits by Prime Minister Vo Van Kiet in 1997 and President Tran Duc Luong in 2003, and the Viet Nam visits by Polish President A. Kwasniewski in 1999, Prime Minister M. Belca in 2005, and the Senate Speakers in 1996 and 2003.

Poland gave valuable support and assistance to Viet Nam’s past struggle for national liberation as well as its present national construction and defense.

The two countries signed a host of agreements, including agreements on cooperation in culture and scientific research in 1992, on justice assistance, investment protection, double-taxation avoidance in 1994 and sea transportation cooperation in 1995.

Debt reduction for Viet Nam, and agriculture and rural development cooperation have all benefited from pacts being inked between the two nations.

Currently, Poland is Viet Nam’s No. 1 trade partner amongst Eastern European states, with two-way trade turnover increasing from 20 million USD in 1992 to 330 million USD in 2006.

The two countries have also looked to expand their cooperation to shipbuilding, coal mining, chemicals, defense industry, and education. Poland also provided a 70 million USD loan for Viet Nam’s shipbuilding industry development.-(VNA)